The UFC 293
pay-per-view lineup has taken a significant hit.
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Flyweight contender Kai
Kara-France announced on Monday that he has been forced to
withdraw from his scheduled clash against Manel Kape
after suffering a concussion.
“I just wanted to come on here and give you guys an update,”
Kara-France said in a video on Instagram. “Unfortunately, I’ve had
to withdraw from my next fight in Sydney, Australia [at] UFC 293. I
suffered a concussion over the weekend in training. I’ve been
speaking to my coaches, my team, and my family. They all think it’s
the right decision to put my health first.
“I just want to say sorry to all the friends and family that bought
tickets, flights, accommodation, (and to) all of the fans that were
excited to fight live. I’m gutted I won’t be a part of this card.
It’s been a tough week with my second son being born as well as me
pulling out of this fight. Mixed emotions. Frustrated. But I’ve
just got to focus on the positives and just spend time with my
loved ones. I appreciate the ongoing support and we’ll be back
soon. Much love.”
Later on Monday,
MMAFighting.com was the first to report that Kape would remain
on the UFC 293 card against Felipe
dos Santos, who was supposed to fight Tuesday on Dana White’s
Contender Series before his opponent was unable to weigh in due to
medical issues. The former Rizin Fighting Federation champion has
won his last three Octagon appearances but thus far in 2023 has
seen fights against Alex Perez,
Deiveson
Figueiredo and Kara-France fall through.
Kara-France has lost back-to-back fights within the Las Vegas-based
promotion. In his last outing, he dropped a controversial split
decision to Amir Albazi
at UFC on ESPN 46 on June 3.
UFC 293 takes place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, and
is headlined by a middleweight title tilt between Israel
Adesanya and Sean
Strickland.
Editor’s Note: This item was updated on Monday at approximately
8:05 p.m. ET to include new information regarding Kape’s
opponent.